Adaptive ev pedal stroke

ABSTRACT

This application discusses various ways to adjust the performance of a variable input control in accordance with previous use data. In some embodiments, the previous use data can be associated with particular users of the variable input control. In this way, a response provided by the user input control can be adjusted to accommodate particular patterns of use on a user by user basis. In some embodiments, the variable input control can take the form of an accelerator pedal of a vehicle. Performance of the accelerator pedal can be adjusted by changing an amount of engine power provided for a particular accelerator pedal position. The adjustment can arrange commonly utilized power settings in the middle of the accelerator pedal range of motion to make manipulation of the accelerator pedal more comfortable and convenient for each user of the accelerator pedal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisionalapplication Ser. No. 14/923,436, filed Oct. 27, 2015, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to ways of customizing avehicle control configuration on a user by user basis. In particular,apparatus and methods related to customizing an output provided inresponse to a user input at an accelerator pedal to suit a user'sdriving habits are disclosed.

BACKGROUND

Input controls have typically been designed to suit the needs of anynumber of users. Unfortunately, what can be a convenient and easycontrol configuration for one user can be inefficient for another user.Control pedals of a vehicle are one example of a type of control thatcan undergo substantial use variation on a person by person basis. Forexample, some users may be more prone to stopping and starting a vehiclerapidly. Users with these types of driving habits would find it moreconvenient and intuitive for a smaller amount of pedal displacement toyield a greater amount of engine or brake response, while a user whopreferred more gradual acceleration and braking might prefer the controlassociated with a more gradual onset of power in response to a givenamount of pedal displacement. For these reasons, more customizablecontrols are desirable.

SUMMARY

This paper describes various embodiments that relate to a control systemconfigured to adjust the output of a variable input control.

An electric vehicle is disclosed which includes the following: abattery; an electric motor; a vehicle control unit configured to controla flow of current from the battery to the electric motor; a variableinput control in electrical communication with the vehicle control unitand configured to receive user inputs that transition the variable inputcontrol between multiple control positions, each one of the controlpositions corresponding to a different amount of power being supplied tothe electric motor by the battery; and a memory storage deviceconfigured to record the amount of power supplied to the electric motor.The vehicle control unit periodically instructs the voltage control unitto adjust the amount of power delivered from the battery to the electricmotor for one or more of the control positions so that a controlposition located within a central range of the variable input controlcorresponds to an average amount of power recorded by the memory storagedevice.

A method for adjusting a response provided by a variable input controlconfigured to govern an amount of energy supplied to a vehicle motor ofa vehicle is disclosed. The method includes the following operations:receiving a user input at the variable input control; recording theamount of power supplied to the vehicle motor in response to the userinput to a memory storage device; and adjusting the amount of energysupplied for a given user input at the variable input device inaccordance with the recorded amount of power and previous amounts ofpower recorded by the memory storage device so that an average amount ofpower supplied to the vehicle motor is biased towards a central range ofthe variable input control

A control system suitable for controlling power delivered from a batteryto a motor of a vehicle is disclosed. The control system includes thefollowing: a user input control configured to send a first signal when auser moves the user input control to a first control position and asecond signal when the user moves the user input control to a secondcontrol position; a memory storage device configured to record an amountof power delivered to the motor during operation of the vehicle; and avehicle control unit configured to receive the signals from the userinput control and transmit a power signal to the motor. The vehiclecontrol unit is configured to direct an adjustment of the amount ofpower supplied in response to the first signal by a first amount and toadjust the amount of power supplied in response to the second signal bya second amount different than the first amount. The adjustments aremade in accordance with the recorded amounts of power delivered to themotor over a period of time.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of the described embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary vehicle suitable for use with the describedembodiments;

FIGS. 1B-1C show a range of motion of an exemplary user input device;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating a control system;

FIGS. 3A-3B show graphical representations depicting how power levelsassociated with various pedal positions can be adjusted;

FIGS. 4A-4C show alternative configurations in which different curveshapes are applied to for a given set of user inputs;

FIGS. 5A-5B show another graph showing a control configuration in whicha single user can have multiple distinctly different power inputprofiles; and

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart describing a method employed by a vehiclecontrol system for varying an amount of power delivered in response toan input control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Representative applications of methods and apparatus according to thepresent application are described in this section. These examples arebeing provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of thedescribed embodiments. It will thus be apparent to one skilled in theart that the described embodiments may be practiced without some or allof these specific details. In other instances, well known process stepshave not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are possible,such that the following examples should not be taken as limiting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in accordancewith the described embodiments. Although these embodiments are describedin sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice thedescribed embodiments, it is understood that these examples are notlimiting; such that other embodiments may be used, and changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the describedembodiments.

The feedback provided by any given control system can vary widely. Thetype and quality of control provided can be especially important in acontrol system that measures an amount of input as opposed to morebinary inputs along the lines of on and off states. For example, levers,pedals and sliding switches are typically configured to provide varyinglevels of input. While a variable input control it can be helpful for arange in which the control system is typically used to be large enoughto allow a user fine control over that typically used range. A controlsystem taking the form of a lever, a pedal or a sliding switch is oftenmapped linearly. The linear mapping provides each portion of the controlrange substantially the same amount of space to control operations ofthe control system. This can be advantageous when normal use of thecontrol system includes cycling the control system across a range ofinputs selectable by the control system. In this way, each range can beselected with about the same precision. However, when the control systemis almost always used to select values within a narrow range of values,making a linear mapping between a control position of the input controland an amount of power output makes much less sense. In such a use case,the linear mapping tends to waste space available for making fineadjustments in the desired range. Unfortunately, different users of aparticular control can be prone to use the control in different mannersand it may not always be possible to choose a single range within whichall users commonly make use of the control system.

One solution to the aforementioned problems is to create profiles forparticular users of a control system and then to adjust a response ofthe control system to account for usage patterns. In some embodiments,these profiles can be referred to as pull files. The pull files are datarepositories that store information about use of the control system andcan be used to adjust a response of the control system. In someembodiments, prior to a user operating the control system an averagecontrol input made by the user can be calculated using the numbersrecorded in the pull file. When the user operates the control system, amajority of the control range can be mapped to the portion of thecontrol range that is most commonly used by that particular user. A usercan be identified in any number of ways including, for example: (1) bymanually providing identification information, (2) by an access deviceby which the user is authorized to operate the control system, whichsends identifying information to the control system; or (3) in relationto an authenticated use session in which a user's login credentials areused to map that user's use of the control system to a pull fileassociated with that user.

In the foregoing disclosure a particular use case will be discussed inwhich the control system takes the form of an accelerator or brake pedalof an electric vehicle. It should be noted that the specific use caseshould not be considered as limiting and that the described embodimentscan pertain equally well to any other type of variable input controlsystem. In some embodiments, the electric vehicle can include a useridentification system that identifies a user by detecting a key fobassociated with that user and used for entry into and operation of theelectric vehicle. Anytime the user identification system senses thatparticular key fob, inputs made into the accelerator or brake pedals canbe recorded to a particular pull file. Alternatively, the electricvehicle could prompt a user for identifying information as part of astartup routine of the electric vehicle. Identification could beaccomplished in any number of other ways including for example, by voicerecognition, identification of a personal electronic device carried bythe user, selection of an existing profile from a input control withinthe vehicle or identification of the user identity by any other sensorwithin the car.

Once the user is identified, a processing unit or controller of thevehicle can be configured to adjust performance of at least one controlsystem within the car. In some embodiments, the adjusted control systemcan take the form of the accelerator pedal of the vehicle. When theaccelerator pedal of the vehicle is not mechanically linked to a controlmechanism that directly changes voltage going to the motor, thecontroller can adjust an amount of energy provided for any given amountof input made to the accelerator pedal. The adjustment to the controllercan be designed to center the displacement or downward stroke of theaccelerator at or near the most commonly used setting. For example, if aparticular user spends a majority of the time operating the vehicle withthe accelerator depressed about 70% of the way down, the controller canchange the accelerator pedal response to provide 70% power when theaccelerator is pressed halfway down. While this ramp can be shaped inany number of ways to achieve this objective of placing commonly usedpower settings in the middle of the pedal stroke, one particularlyeffective response shaping operation involves shaping the curve so thatdepression of the accelerator pedal quickly raises the power level untilthe power gets close to the average power output at which pointdepression of the accelerator results in relatively less change inpower. In this way, the user can reach a desired power level quickly andthen enjoy an increased amount of control within the desired powerrange.

In some embodiments, a user's control behavior can be clustered inmultiple regions depending on other factors such as for example,geographical factors. For example, during a morning or evening commute adriver may have exercise a substantially different set of drivingcharacteristics. Analysis of the drivers power input levels could beconcentrated in at least two substantially different regions of themotors power range. In such a case, mappings between pedal positions andpower levels can be geographically dependent. For example, when anavigation system and time is indicative of a commuting behavior oneresponse profile can be established while at any other time anotherresponse profile can be utilized. In this way, the accelerator pedal canbe configured to more accurately predict desired power levels and adjustthe power response to optimize performance for expected user inputs.

Updates to the pull file can be made periodically. In some embodiments,the response profile can be updated every time the car is driven. Insome embodiments, the response profile can be continuously updated. Instill other embodiments, profile update rates and sampling periods canbe changed or updated by the user.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1A-6; however, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given herein with respect to these figures is forexplanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary vehicle 100 suitable for use with thedescribed embodiments. Vehicle 100 can be designed to carry one or morepassengers and be manually controlled by a driver of vehicle 100. Insome embodiments, vehicle 100 can be an electrically powered vehiclehaving an electric motor configured to drive wheels 102. The electricmotor can be powered by a battery and take any number of forms includinga brushed DC motor, a brushless DC motor and an induction motor. Thedriver can utilize pedals along the lines of an accelerator pedal 104,depicted in FIG. 1B to control the amount of power being delivered fromthe battery to the electric motor. The electric motor takes the powerreceived from the battery to deliver torque to wheels 102. FIG. 1B showsaccelerator pedal 104 of vehicle 100 in an undeflected position θ₁ inwhich little or no power is transmitted from the battery to the electricmotor, while FIG. 1C shows accelerator pedal 104 at position θ₂ at whicha maximum amount of energy would be transferred to the electric motor.FIGS. 1B-1C show a particular range of motion θ for accelerator pedal104 although it should be appreciated that a stroke distance ordisplacement of accelerator pedal 104 can vary widely and the depictedrange of motion should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating a control system 200 for usewith an electric vehicle. Control system 200 includes vehicle controlunit 202. Vehicle control unit 202 is configured to receive a motoroutput mechanical power signal from motor 204 and user profile data frommemory storage 206. The motor output mechanical power signal can allowfor feedback control of motor 204. If a motor power command signal sentto voltage control unit 212 does not yield an expected amount of powerfrom motor 204, the motor power commands sent by vehicle control unit202 can be recalibrated so that the motor power command results in anexpected amount of power being output. In some embodiments, the motorpower commands can be continuously recalibrated so that an expectedamounts of power at motor 204 is achieved. The user profile data storedwithin memory storage 206 can be used to adjust the motor power commandtransmitted for a given variable input control position. The variableinput control position can take the form of accelerator pedal 208 and/orbrake pedal 210. In some embodiments, adjustments to the motor powercommands can be configured to place commonly used power commands in acentral range of the variable input control. Voltage control unit 212 inturn takes the motor power command and correlates it with an amount ofelectrical energy to be delivered from battery 214 to inverter 216. Theelectrical energy is then transferred to inverter 216 as regulatedbattery power. It should be noted that in some embodiments, inverter 216may not be needed in the event the vehicle associated with controlsystem 200 is using a DC motor, in which case voltage control unit 212could provide regulated battery power directly to motor 204. Wheninverter 216 is being utilized it converts the DC power supplied byvoltage control unit 212 and converts it to AC power suitable fordriving motor 204. Motor 204 then uses electricity supplied at a usablecurrent and voltage to produce mechanical power that propels the carforward.

User identifier 218 can be associated with memory storage 206 and beconfigured to determine which user profile to select. In someembodiment, user identifier 218 can include a wireless receiver forreading an identification device carried by a user. The identificationdevice can take many forms but some examples include a key fob foraccessing the device or a personal electronic communication deviceconfigured to pair with and provide identification information to thevehicle. When user identifier correlates the user to an existing userprofile, the existing user profile is used to optimize accelerator pedalinputs for selection of frequently used power levels. When useridentifier 218 determines the user is using the vehicle for the firsttime, a new user profile is generated using a default profile. In thisway, the user can be clearly identified and a corresponding user profilecan be selected.

FIGS. 3A-3B show graphical representations depicting how power levelsassociated with various pedal positions can be adjusted. The dashed linein both FIGS. 3A and 3B represents a default profile. FIG. 3A shows howover a certain amount of time a driver associated with User Profile 1tended to make inputs averaging about 85%. By adjusting an output of thevehicle control unit so that more power is supplied earlier in the pedalstroke a driver of a vehicle can more easily achieve a desired amount ofpower, as shown by the solid line representing user profile 1.Furthermore, by establishing a rapidly rising slope the desired powerlevel approaches substantially faster than would be achieved if therewas a simply linear slope to the curve. Because the driver spendssubstantially less time using lower levels of power, the ability to beable to make fine adjustments at lower levels of power becomes a lowerpriority for users that regularly operate the accelerator pedal athigher power levels. Also, by shaping the curve in this manner portionsof the pedal stroke surrounding the average power level have a greateramount of fine adjustments space. Furthermore, as power getsincreasingly higher, tuneability and controllability of the power levelgets increasingly better. FIG. 3B shows how another driver associatedwith user profile 2 tended to make lower power inputs averaging about20%. A more steadily increasing curve can be developed to accommodatethe type of input range associated with user profile 2. In this way, thedriver benefits from greater control of power input within the range inwhich most driving is performed. While power increases rapidly in thesecond half of the curve, a driver who rarely uses these power rangeswould be less concerned in such a situation. It should be noted that avehicle could also include a switch for alternating between a defaultpower profile and a custom profile when desired. It should also be notedthat the curves depicted show the average power value being placedprecisely at the 50% mark, or a central point in the accelerator pedalrange. Alternatively, the average power request could be offset from thecentral point when that offset helps to group more commonly used powersettings within a central range of the accelerator pedal. In someembodiments, a central range of the accelerator pedal can correspond tocontrol positions located within a central third of the possible rangeof control inputs, i.e. control positions between 33-66% of the controlrange, although other categorizations are certainly possible.

FIGS. 4A-4C show an alternative configuration in which different curveshapes are applied to for a given set of user inputs. FIG. 4A shows howa more aggressive driving profile represented by User Profile 3 can beshaped to have a course control region as a variable input control isfirst depressed transitioning to a fine control region and finally amore linear control region. This type of profile can be advantageouswhen a user's inputs are tightly spaced around a particular power level.For example, a vehicle used for long freeway transits could commonly beusing a consistent amount of motor power. The slope of the curve in thefine control region could be adjusted or a width of the fine controlregion could be widened or narrowed to encompass a certain percentage ofcommon control inputs. For example, the fine control region could beconfigured to encompass 70-80% of all inputs recorded to user profile 3.Similarly, FIG. 4B and User Profile 4 show a similarly shaped curve thatstarts in a linear control region transitions to a fine control regionand then finishes with a course control region. Such a curve brings theuser quickly to an average power level at which point the input controlprovides plenty of variability for getting precisely the desired amountof power. Finally FIG. 4C shows an additional embodiment in which theaverage power input is around 50%. While the linear mapping betweenpower and pedal position does keep the average power input at around50%, in some embodiments it can be helpful to adjust the high and lowends of the power curve to help get the user quickly to the desiredlevel of power quickly and course control regions given that they aremuch less frequently employed.

FIGS. 5A-5B show another graph showing a control configuration in whicha single user can have multiple distinctly different power inputprofiles. For example, the depicted 1st profile can be tied to aparticular geographic location or route of travel. For example, the 1stprofile can be associated with only those times when the driver iscommuting to work on a busy highway at a particular time of day. Bygrouping user inputs isolated to particular times and/or locations theprofile can be idealized even better. Similarly, the depicted 2ndprofile could be associated with locations or routes along which highamounts of acceleration and/or power are desired. For example,accelerating rapidly when turning onto a busy street, merging onto afreeway onramp, etc. Vehicles that include an inertial or satelliteassisted navigation system can benefit most greatly from a systemconsistent with the one described since locations and times can be savedalong with the user inputs. Although not depicted a third profile couldbe employed when driving outside areas or circumstances recognized by aprocessing unit of the control system.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart describing a method 600 employed by a vehiclecontrol system for varying an amount of power delivered in response toan input control. At a first block 602, a user operating a vehicle isidentified. The identification can be performed with a sensor locatedwithin the vehicle and in communication with the vehicle control system.In some embodiments, the sensor can be configured to detect a personaldevice associated with the user along the lines of a key fob, a portableelectronic device (e.g. identification of Bluetooth® device), an RFIDtag and the like. In some embodiments, the sensor can be a biometricsensor configured to confirm an identity of the user based on voicerecognition, a fingerprint or any other identifiable biometricsignature. At block 604, once the user of the vehicle is identified, auser profile associated with that user can be retrieved from a memorystorage device of the vehicle control system. The user profile caninclude a response curve that maps input control position to poweroutput. The response curve can be generated based upon previous inputsto the input control made by the user. In particular, the stored datacorresponds to an amount of power requested by the user through theinput control. The response curve will generally be configured to placea majority of previous power requests within a central range of inputsselectable by the input control when practicable.

At block 606, the response curve associated with the retrieved userprofile is used to change the response of the input control by mappingpower values defined by the response curve to input control positions ofthe input control. At block 608, inputs made at the input control arestored to the retrieved user profile on the memory storage device. Atblock 610, the inputs recorded to the memory storage device are utilizedto update the user profile. The process returns periodically to block606 to remap the updated user profile with the user control. Thefrequency at which the user profile gets updated can vary widely. Forexample, the updating can be performed at a predefined interval oralternatively after the user profile has deviated from the loadedprofile by a predefined amount. Deviation of 5-10% could cue a remappingof the input control with the user profile. In some embodiments, anyupdates to the mapping can be performed while the user is not activelyengaged in driving the vehicle. For example, the remapping could bedelayed until the vehicle is at a complete stop or until the vehicle isrestarted. Alternatively the vehicle could be configured to notify thedriver of the vehicle or even request a remapping be performed so thedriver is not surprised by the change in the input control behaviorwhile operating the vehicle. Furthermore, when the response of the inputcontrol is adjusted during vehicle operation, a processor associatedwith the vehicle control unit can be configured to gradually adjust thepower/control position correlation for the variable input control over aperiod of time. In this way, the driver can be prevented fromexperiencing abrupt changes in the control output.

The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of thedescribed embodiments can be used separately or in any combination.Various aspects of the described embodiments can be implemented bysoftware, hardware or a combination of hardware and software. Thedescribed embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code ona computer readable medium for controlling manufacturing operations oras computer readable code on a computer readable medium for controllinga manufacturing line. The computer readable medium is any data storagedevice that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computersystem. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-onlymemory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, HDDs, DVDs, magnetic tape, andoptical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also bedistributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computerreadable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodimentsare presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to theprecise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that many modifications and variations are possible in view ofthe above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric vehicle, comprising: a battery; anelectric motor; a vehicle control unit configured to control a flow ofpower from the battery to the electric motor; a variable input controlin electrical communication with the vehicle control unit and configuredto receive user inputs for transitioning between multiple controlpositions including a first control position, each one of the controlpositions corresponding to a different amount of power being supplied tothe electric motor by the battery and being located in a correspondingrange of variable input control, the first control position beinglocated in a central range of variable input control; and a memorystorage device configured to record an amount of power supplied to theelectric motor in response to the user inputs over a period of time; andwherein the vehicle control unit is further configured to send signalsto adjust the power supplied from the battery to the electric motor forone or more of the control positions so that power supplied from thebattery to electric motor at the first control position corresponds toan average amount of power recorded by the memory storage device.
 2. Theelectric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the variable inputcontrol comprises an accelerator pedal.
 3. The electric vehicle asrecited in claim 2, wherein the vehicle control unit adjusts powerassociated with multiple control positions so that moving theaccelerator pedal within a low range of the accelerator pedal changes anamount of power supplied to the electric motor from the battery morethan moving the accelerator pedal the same amount within the centralrange.
 4. The electric vehicle as recited in claim 2, wherein thevehicle control unit adjusts the power so that the average amount ofpower recorded by the memory storage device corresponds to the center ofthe central range of the accelerator pedal.
 5. The electric vehicle asrecited in claim 3, further comprising a user identification systemconfigured to determine an identity of a user of the electric vehicle,wherein each of recorded user inputs is stored in a user profile on thememory storage device associated with the user that made the user input.6. The electric vehicle as recited in claim 5, further comprising anavigation system, wherein location information provided by thenavigation system is recorded to the memory storage device andassociated with a corresponding power supplied to the electric motor atthe location.
 7. The electric vehicle as recited in claim 6, furthercomprising a timing system, wherein the location information recorded onthe memory storage device also includes timing information provided bythe timing system.
 8. The electric vehicle as recited in claim 6,wherein when the amount of power recorded are different for a particularlocation or route than other amounts of power recorded outside thatparticular location or route, the vehicle control unit is furtherconfigured to generate a separate user profile for the user to recorduser inputs received at that location or along that route, the separateuser profile being engaged only when the navigation system identifiesthe electric vehicle is being operated along the particular location orroute.
 9. The electric vehicle as recited in claim 5, wherein thevehicle control unit is further configured to alter a correlationbetween an amount of power output by the electric motor and controlpositions of the variable input control when the electric vehicle isoperated along a particular location or route.
 10. A method foradjusting a response provided by a variable input control of a vehicleconfigured to govern power supplied to an electric motor of the vehicle,the method comprising: receiving, at the variable control unit, a userinput; recording an amount power supplied to the vehicle motor inresponse to the user input over a period of time at a memory storagedevice of the vehicle; and adjusting, at the vehicle control unit, theamount of power supplied to the vehicle motor at a given user input inaccordance power previously supplied to the vehicle motor as recorded bythe memory storage device so that an average amount of power supplied tothe vehicle motor is biased towards a central range of the variableinput control.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10, furthercomprising: identifying a user operating the vehicle, wherein recordingthe user input to a memory storage device comprises recording the userinput to a user profile associated with the identified user.
 12. Themethod as recited in claim 11, wherein identifying the user operatingthe vehicle comprises identifying an electronic device being carried bythe user that is associated with the user.
 13. The method as recited inclaim 12, wherein the electronic device comprises a key fob.
 14. Themethod as recited in claim 10, further comprising readjusting the powersupplied to the vehicle motor at a given user input while a user isoperating the vehicle.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14, whereinthe readjusting is performed in response to an average amount of powerrequested by the user exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 16. A controlsystem suitable for controlling power delivered from a battery to amotor of a vehicle, the control system comprising: a user input controlconfigured to send a first signal when a user moves the user inputcontrol to a first control position and a second signal when the usermoves the user input control to a second control position; a memorystorage device configured to record an amount of power supplied to theelectric motor in response to the user inputs over a period of time; anda vehicle control unit configured to receive the signals from the userinput control and transmit a power signal to adjust a flow of powersupplied from a battery of the vehicle to the motor, wherein the vehiclecontrol unit is further configured to send signals to adjust the powersupplied from the battery to the electric motor for one or more of thecontrol positions so that power supplied from the battery to electricmotor at the first control position corresponds to an average amount ofpower recorded by the memory storage device.
 17. The control system asrecited in claim 16, further comprising a user identification systemconfigured to determine an identity of the user of the vehicle, whereineach of recorded user inputs is stored in a user profile on the memorystorage device associated with the user that made the user input. 18.The control system as recited in claim 17, wherein the memory storagedevice records the power requested by the user and the identity of theuser.
 19. The control system as recited in claim 18, wherein the userinput control comprises an accelerator pedal.
 20. The control system asrecited in claim 19, wherein a correlation between the amounts of powersupplied and motion of the user input control takes the form of a powercurve and wherein the power curve has a greater slope in a low range ofthe power curve than in a central range of the power curve when anaverage amounts of power recorded by the memory storage device isgreater than half an available power from the motor.